Little Red Pixie
by Rondabunny
Summary: The idea is as old as Adam because the almighty Mord'Sith is turned into a child by powerful magic. Now Zedd, Richard and Kahlan have to deal with a five-year old child with the brain of an adult woman. Enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

**Little Red Pixie**

 **Part 1**

A childish shriek from the far away part of the cave attracted Richard's attention. They came here for the powerful magical book that would help them in their non-ending war with Jagang, the Emperor of the Imperial Order, who enslaved approximately half of the New World territories. When Richard was fighting Jagang soldiers Cara followed two of them in the labyrinth of the ancient cave. Kahlan and Zedd were near him killing the enemies back to back. He was so proud to see the Wizard of First Order and the Mother Confessor on his side fighting for freedom of the Midlands.

The Seeker ran into the cave after Cara and that strange child, who had shrieked a minute ago. Carefully, step by step Richard made his way in the narrow tunnel of the cave until he stumbled over a body of the dead soldier. The Seeker stepped over the dead body and the dim light of the torch illuminated the room cut in the marble with lots of slots with various phials, boxes, books, etc. Richard put up the torch to see how big the room was. It was round, full with various things that stood along the perimeter on round stone tables. In the light of the torch pink marble glittered like the surface of the sea only of different color. Near one of the stone tables Richard found the dead body of another soldier and to his sheer surprise Mord-Sith's garmets as if Cara went for a swim and left her clothes here.

" _Cara,"_ he called. His voice jumped from domelike ceiling shattering into echo.

" _I'm here!"_ answered a thin piping voice.

Richard approached the massive stone table which height was at the level of his waist. He lighted the spot behind the table to see a small child of about 5 or 6 years old. A pale, blonde girl with big blue eyes full of childish curiosity stared at him. She was holding a huge wooden box with strange symbols on it in her little hands. The lid was open and the child looked at it angrily.

" _Cara?"_ Richard asked softly not to scare the girl.

" _Yes!"_ The girl threw away the odious box in fury and put the strap of her large undervest straight. The grimace on the child's face spoke of many terrible things that might happen to anybody, who would touch this pretty young girl.

The Seeker didn't know what to say. He just smiled. Suddenly they heard the voices of the wizard and the confessor coming their way. Without paying much attention to Richard Cara flip-flapped bare foot to the agiels, squatted to take at least one and immediately screamed and jumped away in unbearable pain. She was fiercely sharking the hand which touched the agiel and jumping on one leg.

The first was Kahlan, who ran into the room nearly falling down because of the corpse on her way. She was followed by the wizard, who patiently stepped over the dead soldier.

" _Richard, where's the child? Who's crying? Where's Cara?"_ Kahlan pronounced the questions in one breath worrying more about the child than about the fearless Mord'Sith.

" _Here,"_ the man pointed at the blonde child.

" _Cara?!"_ Zedd and Kahlan said in unison.

" _I think she opened this box."_ Richard picked up the wooden box from the ground and handed it to Zedd.

" _I didn't open it!"_ hissed Cara in her thin childish voice. _"This bastard smashed it on the floor when my agiel got his heart!"_

" _Hey, little lady! Watch your tongue!"_ teased Kahlan.

The child again straightened the strap of an enormous gown in which turned her under vest and stared at the Confessor ready to wipe away the smile from woman's face.

" _Don't get on my nerves, Mother Confessor. I'm not in the mood right now!"_ The Mord'Sith tried to threaten the woman but only caused more smiles from the wizard and the Seeker. _"Wizard, bring my appearance back!"_ She commanded.

Zedd took the box from Richard's hands and shook his head.

" _Unfortunately, I can't,"_ he said with regret.

Cara looked examiningly at Zedd's face figuring out if he made this up or not.

" _You are an almighty wizard of the First Order! You can undo anything!"_ She said stubbornly.

Zedd looked searchingly at the box than turned his gaze to Cara again.

" _You have to listen to me, child."_ He didn't know why he said it but he did. _"This is an ancient spell of subtractive magic. As you know I have additive magic, so whatever I do might kill you."_

" _But you have to try, maybe it won't kill me,"_ Cara stated obstinately.

" _Can you explain to me what was in this box?"_ asked the wizard.

" _When the box fell down, some kind of purple dust came out. I couldn't breathe for a moment until it got into my lungs, I guess. Then I started to shrink, until I turned into this."_ She shrugged her shoulders as if apologizing for being so clumsy. It wasn't her fault, though.

" _Holly spirits! It's even worse than I thought. Long ago, when I was an amateur and just started to study magical objects. I found a tome of the most powerful dark magic where this magic dust was mentioned. In the devastating war when the Old World was separated from the New World by the barrier, sorcerers made the dust to turn back time. Their flesh became younger but the mind remained. Everything they learned, all experience of 50, 70 and hundred years old magicians had small children, who could get unnoticed into the enemy's camp and slaughter half of the army by their powerful abilities. The disadvantage was childish nature. No matter how wise they were, nobody could resist childish behavior, childish fatigue or clumsiness. Also, as children lack moral aspects, the more those magicians killed the thirst for blood grew until they turned into ugly teenagers ruthless to anyone on the way. That's why most of them were killed."_ Zedd sighed.

" _Do you say that nothing could be done?! I'll be in this filthy body till I grow up again?!"_ The thought made Cara shiver.

" _Firstly, it's not a filthy body. It's you at the age of five. Secondly, I didn't say that nobody can undo the spell. I just said we need a sorcerer with the subtractive magic to do it,"_ explained the wizard.

" _Richard has both sides of the magic. Let him undo it,"_ stated Cara in a peremptory tone that was so funny to hear from a tiny still childishly plump girl.

" _This spell is not that anybody can do! It needs a lot of practice and power. Besides, we have to find the book with detailed instructions or it will turn upside down the whole world!"_ warned Zedd.

" _What do you mean?"_ asked Richard.

" _If something goes wrong, everyone in the world will turn into a child. The sorcerer, who will be doing the spell, will die and Cara will remain the only adult person in the whole world. Can you imagine the world with toddlers?"_ Zedd raised his voice to emphasize the last sentence.

Cara, who was listening to Zedd, twisting one leg about the other as it was too cold to stand barefoot on the cold ground floor, stopped hotching. Her heart sunk. Where could they find such a powerful sorcerer? Even if they find him or her, will they do what they are asking them? This was stupid. She shouldn't have come here. It was better for her to be with general Meiffert rather in this cold, ancient, dark place. Sullenly she turned her back to the seeker and went decidedly to her agiels.

" _Cara! No!"_ Kahlan, who was standing on the other side of the table, strolled to the child. With one strong hand she pulled Cara back from the agiels. The child managed to touch one and pain made her muscles jerk. The air was rent by a piercing shriek. Tears gathered in those splendid blue eyes.

" _Let me go! I don't want to grow up once again! I'm supposed to protect you and Lord Rahl! Now I can't even punch you well enough! What avail of a five-year old child?!"_ she cried. Crocodile tears were rolling down her pale chubby cheeks.

" _Shhh! Cara, you are my friend. Remember? Neither of us will ever let you down. Sister Nicci is on our side. She has subtractive magic. I'm sure she'll help you eagerly."_

Absent-mindedly Kahlan easily lifted Cara up and sat her on one of the arms supporting it with another arm.

" _Put me down! I can walk by myself!"_ the child sniffled wearily.

" _Good spirits! You are colder than a frog! Richard, wrap Cara in her top, take the rest of her clothes and the agiels. I'm taking her out or she'll freeze in here."_

Richard picked up the Mord'Sith's top and gently wrapped it over Cara's small form. Then he took the protesting child from Mother Confessor's arms and went out of the cave followed by Kahlan. The woman was carrying the rest of the Mord'Sith's gear.

" _See if these soldiers have any appropriate clothes. We can needle some robes for Cara as she overshrunk her own,"_ he grinned and winked at a very confused Mord'Sith, whose little form was delivered to the light by the mighty Lord Rahl himself. Any Mord'Sith would have died to be in her shoes right now but not Cara. The poor child was put to shame. The only thing she wanted to do was to disappear.

" _Come on. Let's make something appropriate of this vest."_

Kahlan kneeled in front of the Mord'Sith. She tied each strap in a bow for them not to slip off Cara's shoulders. The vest was too wide for a tiny girl. So, the Confessor tore the hem of the dead soldier's shirt and tied it as a belt around child's waist. Now it looked like a tunic that reached girl's knees.

" _Not bad!"_ Kahlan remained satisfied with her work.

Cara stared skeptically at the dress made out of her under vest.

" _I look stupid,"_ she exclaimed.

" _No, you look like a child who wanted to play dress up using her mother's clothes,"_ the Confessor giggled.

The child frowned and went to her clothes that Kahlan put down next to her backpack. When the girl wanted to pick up something from the pile of clothes Kahlan seized child's arm and pulled her back.

" _What are you doing?"_ Cara tried to wrest from the Confessor's grasp but all her attempts failed.

" _Don't even think of touching them again!"_ said Kahlan strictly.

" _I just want to put them in my backpack!"_ exclaimed the child nearly falling down when the woman released her.

" _Again you are arguing!"_ reprimanded the old man going out of the cave with a book in his hands.

" _She doesn't let me put my agiels in the backpack!"_ Cara frowned and folded her arms. She was absolutely furious.

" _Don't worry. I'll do that,"_ said Richard in apologetic tone. He picked up two short red rods by the chains on their ends and carefully put them into the sack. The belt with holster's for these deadly weapons followed together with Cara's red leathers.

" _Zedd, can you make my clothes in a way they'd fit me,"_ asked the girl looking at the old man with her pleading, big, blue eyes.

" _I can do that but they won't fit."_

" _Why?"_

" _Because of your figure."_

" _My figure?"_ Cara seemed confused.

" _Fine, I'll show you."_

Zedd told Richard to take the Mord'Sith's costume out and spelled it.

" _Try it on."_

The pants were good enough but she couldn't buckle them on her waist. The top was too big and baggy on her chest and too tight on her belly. Kahlan couldn't stop giggling at the picture of Cara's puzzled look. Zedd and Richard turned their backs to the Mord'Sith to give her some privacy.

" _I'm flat like a board and fat like a pig,"_ the child stated the obvious.

" _As for me, you are the most beautiful five-year-old girl I've ever seen!"_ Kahlan gently helped Cara to put on the improvised dress.

" _At least the boots and the underwear fitted,"_ the Mord'Sith said sullenly putting her garments away.

" _Keep your chin up! We'll undress some of these soldiers and you'll have the best wardrobe for a kid!"_ Zedd made an attempt to cheer her up.

Cara didn't reply. The child was too upset, so she went to see what she could find on those dead corpses.

 _ **To be continued…**_

 _ **The reviews are appreciated**_


	2. Chapter 2

**Little Red Pixie**

 **Part 2**

" _May I have some more dried fruit?"_ asked a fair haired girl thrusting out her hand.

" _No, until you eat a sandwich with jerked beef,"_ said Zedd with his mouth full with cheese and bread.

" _It's brackish! I don't wanna eat that! I wanna some more fruit!"_ she pouted looking at the wizard pleadingly.

" _Don't look at me like that! You already ate mine, Richard's and Kahlan's portions of dried fruit. You'll have a stomach ache!"_ growled the old man.

" _How about some bread?"_ Richard offered a piece of scone that began to grow hard.

" _It's already hard!"_ complained the child.

" _You have teeth."_ Richard began to lose his patience because Cara didn't eat anything except dried fruit they offered her.

" _What would you like to eat if you were at home?"_ asked Kahlan curiously.

" _A piece of cherry cake with huge cream flowers on it,"_ came the reply.

" _So, Zedd. Can you do it out of this bread?"_ Kahlan looked at the wizard, who breathed deeply finishing chewing his cheese.

" _Today I've done enough unnecessary magic without any success. I spelled the clothes of those soldiers which she refused to put on!.."_

" _They were scruffy and filthy! I can't put on the sweaty reeking clothes of those bastards!"_ With all her tiny posture Cara showed that she was in a huff.

" _What did I tell you about language?!"_ Kahlan furrowed her brows.

" _This is the childish behavior I warned you about. And mark my words it will be worse and worse every day!"_ Zedd casted an angry look at the Mord'Sith.

" _Fine, I'm full. I'll take the first watch."_ Cara stood up from the rag and was going to leave them to take the best position to guard their small camp when Richard's chuckle stopped her.

" _How is a five-year old going to protect three adults from the Imperial soldiers?"_ asked Richard mockingly. _"I won't give you the agiels. Don't even think about them!"_

" _I throw knives."_

Cara had two knives one in each boot. Both of them she borrowed from dead soldiers. Another knife was stuck in the male leather belt, which Zedd shrunk to fit a little girl. She looked ridiculous in an enormous black under vest turned into a light dress by the Mother Confessor. It was girdled with the brown warrior belt with a dagger on the left side and a tiny spelled sword on the right side. Two knives were 'hidden' in high red boots. Cara resembled a child that ran away from some awful fancy-party.

" _Really? Show us."_

The Seeker stood up, made fifteen steps and stuck the Sword of Truth into the ground.

" _Do you see it clearly?"_ Richard inquired.

" _Yes, I do."_ Cara nodded.

" _Well, try to hit the sword-hilt."_

The Mord'Sith threw the first knife but it didn't reach the target. Another didn't make it either and only the last dagger stuck two feet from the sword. Two knives and a dagger were on one line but neither of them hit the hilt. Cara looked disappointed. She turned and went away from the camp not carrying much about the weapons she left.

" _Cara, come back at once!"_ She heard Kahlan's voice but was too upset to say anything or go back. _"Cara, I mean it!"_

Richard picked up his sword and the knives and ran after the Mother Confessor, who was close on Cara's heels. Kahlan took the child by the shoulder and made Cara face her.

" _Tell me where are you going?"_ The Confessor squatted to be at the eye level of the child.

" _Let me go! You don't need me! I can't protect anyone! I can't even throw a knife! What's the use of a five-year old? Leave me here!"_ She shouted too upset of being so miserable.

" _Cara, you don't need to guard us all the time. You're like a sister to me. How do you think, if the same happened to me, will you leave me alone in this steppe?"_ Kahlan tried to drub the idea in this sweet blonde head.

" _No, I would protect you as if you were my own child."_

" _We feel the same, don't we?"_ She looked up at Richard.

" _Yes, we do. I will hate myself if something happens to you."_ He took her small palm in his. _"By the way, you are really good at throwing knives. If I had put the target five feet closer, you'd have hit it without doubt."_

" _Can I try it again, then?"_ She asked yawning at the same time.

" _No, you've yawned three times in a row by now. It was a long day. It's beddy-bye time,"_ said Kahlan smiling at the girl.

" _Don't talk to me like I'm a toddler!"_ Cara furrowed.

" _Of course not, how can I talk to such a grown-up girl like that,"_ Kahlan grinned. Richard also couldn't fight but smile.

In the morning the Seeker woke up from child's screams. Cara rolled on the grass in agony from terrible pain. Richard saw the tip of the agiel poked out from the backpack. Kahlan kneeled near the child to soothe her pain.

" _That's enough!"_ said Richard angrily. _"I don't care a child or not but you are punished!"_ He shouted at the weeping girl.

" _Don't shout at her! Don't you see she's in pain!"_ The Morther Confessor seemed annoyed and worried at the same time.

" _Who is responsible for it?!"_ The Seeker sounded too serious. Kahlan knew this ominous tone. _"Cara, tell me when do you start girl's training to become Mord'Siths?"_

Cara still shaking from pain was already sitting on Confessor's lap and mopping up tears with two little fists.

" _From the age of 9,"_ sniffed the girl.

" _Why do you start at this age and not earlier?"_

" _Otherwise children can't bear pain and die."_ The child sniffed again.

" _Look at me!"_ He gently touched her chin to make her not avert those blue eyes from his face. _"Cara, do you want to die?"_

" _No, I don't."_ She whispered avoiding his piercing gaze.

" _Then, as Lord Rahl I'll take your agiels until you are grown up enough to have them. If you disobey my order, I'll spank you no matter a Mord'Sith or not. Is it clear?"_

" _Yes, my Lord,"_ answered the child.

" _Wonderful! I said you are punished. So, take water skins and bring water. Two skins at a time."_

" _Come on! I'll help you."_ Kahlan put up Cara on her feet and stood up herself.

" _No, you won't. It's her job."_ The Seeker made eye contact with Kahlan, who saw fire burning in his eyes. So, she didn't object his decision.

Instead of going straight to the cave Cara approached Zedd.

" _Can you light the torch? I need to take water from the cave."_ She stared at the cave nervously. Zedd noticed that but did what she asked him.

Cara couldn't shake the feeling of uneasiness while entering the cave. The light of the torch danced on the irregular surface of the walls making them absolutely evil for a little child. Each curve of the wall and each protruding stone threw a freakish shadow. The cave was silent if not for the sound of a tiny dribble of water that run from a crack in the wall two turns down the labyrinth of long, dark corridors. The girl endeavored not to think of the pictures that her mind made of the walls. There she saw a face of the monster looking at her from above. Turning right there was an opened muzzle of the beast ready to bite. She knew it was just the flight of her vivid childish imagination. Nonetheless, she quickened her pace to fulfill the task as soon as possible.

Unfortunately, she was too little to reach any taper holder and couldn't put the torch down because it wouldn't give her enough light. So, with one hand she was holding the torch and with another the water skin, which was very slowly filling in with water. The more she stood waiting for the skin to be full, the faster her heart beat. Goose bumps covered her pale skin when she heard a bat flying high at the ceiling. Unknown primal fear gripped her heart. The only thing Cara wanted very much was to run, to leave the place, to cry for help.

Kahlan noticed a small girl running out of the cave as if a pack of dogs was hunting her. Two big water skins slowed her down a bit hitting against her hips. Suddenly, Cara tripped over a hassock and would have fallen down if she didn't use the torch as a cane for balance. This clumsy movement put the fire out but didn't stop the girl from this crazy race.

" _Cara, where are you running so fast?"_ Richard greeted the panting Mord'Sith.

" _I… I… Just wanted to come… faster for two more… skins,"_ she pronounced totally out of breath.

" _Thank you. Give these to me,"_ Kahlan took one and then another skin that were hanging in a crisscross manner on Cara's little form. She put two more water skins over girl's head and Zedd held out a lighted torch. _"So, one more round, young lady."_ Kahlan smiled at the girl, who furrowed her brows.

Again the invidious cave. Cara took a deep breath and entered the darkness immediately feeling how hair stands on end of her head. Yesterday she ran after two soldiers of the Imperial Order dangerously and ruthlessly sweeping them away not paying attention to the darkness of the cave or non-ending narrow corridors which now stroke terror into her soul. She quickly approached the dripping and hastily uncorked the skin. The child tried to slow down her breath but the heart rate accelerated ever more. She could hear it in her head bumping in the temples. Strange noise made stretch her hand out towards the dagger on the belt.

" _It's very impolite to throw daggers at old men!"_ reprimanded the wizard stopping the knife in the midair.

Cara heaved a sigh of relief briskly hiding her right hand with the knife behind her back.

" _I thought you had to fill in the water skins not to sail them in this puddle,"_ said Zedd picking the fallen skin up from the puddle.

" _Sorry,_ _wanted to come to grisp with it when you appeared,_ _"_ replied Cara relieved that somebody was near.

" _Afraid of the dark?"_ He asked putting the skin under the dripping.

" _A little,"_ the girl confessed turning red immediately. _"Please, don't tell Richard and Kahlan. They will laugh down. I'm so ashamed."_

" _There is nothing to be ashamed of. You're a vulnerable kid. If somebody told me at the age of five to go into an unknown cave, I would scream for mommy."_ He smiled reassuringly.

" _But I'm not a five year old child. I'm a Mord'Sith."_

" _Your mind isn't but your body is. All your feelings and senses are coming from this vulnerable form."_ He touched her chest with his finger. _"Were you afraid of the dark as a child?"_

Cara nodded admitting those scary nights when she came to her elder sister's bed too frightened to sleep in her own.

" _Now everything you were afraid of as a child came back. This is your instinct. You can't fight it. You understand it with your brain, but your body refuses to accept it."_

" _What should I do?"_ asked Cara.

" _Nothing. No matter how strange it may sound to you, but you have to trust us. You have to rely on us. Enjoy every day of your childhood. Other people don't have this opportunity."_

" _I'm a Mord'Sith but in this body I feel myself like a bug."_ She sighed.

" _We have to accept our fate, Cara. You have been taking care of us since we met you. Now let us return favour."_

The old man corked the skin, stood up and offered Cara his hand. The girl just frowned. Took the water skin from his hand and gave him the torch. Zedd shook his head and followed the blonde girl.

 _ **To be continued…**_


	3. Chapter 3

**Little Red Pixie**

 **Part 3**

" _Cara, take it off at once! You look like a turtle!"_ ordered Richard casting a gimlet gaze at the little girl.

Chubby hands clenched backpack straps even tighter, so the knuckles turned white. Her capacious backpack now looked as an enormous sack on her tiny shoulders. The straps were too big. She couldn't grip them thoroughly with one hand. If Cara didn't hold the straps, the backpack would dangle somewhere at the level of bottom because even if she had shortened the straps to their minimal size, still they were too long for her small form.

" _It's mine! I'll carry it on my own!"_ answered the offended child.

" _It's too heavy for you! It's probably half of you weight now!"_ Richard tried to talk sense into the Mord'Sith and made a step forward. Cara made two steps back ready to run.

" _It's the only magic backpack. That's how I can carry my and Zedd's things. If I'm small, it doesn't mean I'm weak!"_ She said stubbornly.

" _Cara, let's change. I give you two heavy water skins in exchange of your backpack,"_ Kahlan couldn't treat the mighty Mord'Sith as a strong unruly guard anymore. She looked at this chubby blonde girl with big blue eyes and the only thing she wanted to protect her, to take the child and her arms and lull her to sleep.

" _Don't talk to me like I'm a baby! I'm not!"_ Cara resented Kahlan's tone.

The Mother Confessor rolled her eyes. It was so funny when a five-year old talked like an adult. Kahlan knew if she really wanted to take that backpack from her friend, she would do it easily.

Zedd, who became extremely bored by Cara's performance, furrowed his brows because Cara's childish behavior got on his nerves. He mumbled some words to himself looking at the backpack. The Mord'Sith felt that the bag became heavier. She held the straps and bent her back in order not to fall backwards instead she fell down on her belly pinned to the ground by the heavy burden. She seemed as if she was lying under a huge rock. The child couldn't move and her breathing became shallow.

" _So, are you going to stay here with your precious backpack or you'll take two skins and we continue our journey?"_ the wizard squatted near the child to see her face.

" _I'll take skins,"_ said Cara out of breath.

" _Fair enough!"_ Zedd took up the child together with her backpack.

He waited for the girl to take it off. Kahlan shook off some leaves and dust from the Mord'Sith's improvised dress, put two skins over that blonde head and finally, they went further. Zedd grumbled something about wizards of the past, who had never carried heavy things because there was always somebody who did this work but nobody listened to his growling. Richard and Kahlan also had backpacks. Cara's wasn't much heavier than theirs even if it had Zedd's and Mord'Sith's things all together.

" _Wizard, can you turn me into a bird?"_ asked Cara after 2 hours of walk.

The cave and the rocky landscape remained far behind the travelers. They have been walking for an hour in rugged prairie under the scorching rays of the sun. Adults were sweating but for a five-year old it was even worse. When Richard and Kahlan made one step, she had to make two and a half. With wizard's long legs she had to pace even quicker to keep up with his long strides.

" _Why? Are you tired?"_ Zedd peered at the girl who was nearly running after him.

" _No, I'm not!"_ muttered the Mord'Sith. _"But it would be easier for Richard not to turn round every time to see if I follow or not."  
_

" _I don't think it's a good idea,"_ said the wizard slowing down a bit for the girl to keep up.

" _Why?"_

" _Because when a person is in the body of an animal he can prefer to be there forever,"_ explained the old man.

" _Darken Rahl turned me into a bird once to find Richard. As you see, I didn't like being a bird much."_

" _Yes, but that time you were a grown-up woman."_

" _What do you mean? I am a grown-up woman!"_ The Mord'Sith disagreed with the wizard.

" _Really? What would you like to have as a toy a rag doll or a wooden pony?"_

" _A wooden pony, of course."_ Cara said immediately without thinking.

" _Exactly, what I wanted to prove. The Mord'Sith I know would cast me an angry glance right now without commenting the question,"_ said Zedd wisely making the point.

" _It's a stupid question which doesn't prove anything!"_ The child grumbled. _"Just say that the wizard of the first order can't turn a person into a bird. This will be the truth."_

" _No, it won't!"_

" _Yes, it will!"_

" _No, it won't!"_

" _Yes, it will!"_

" _Holy spirits! I squabble with a child!"_ Zedd grunted.

" _What are you arguing about?"_ asked Richard who has been waiting for the two travelers to draw up with him.

" _That he can't turn me into a bird!"_

" _That she is a child!"_

They said the sentences in unison, so Richard needed some seconds to understand what that was all about.

" _Are you tired?"_ he asked worriedly looking at Cara.

" _Not at all,"_ came the answer from the child.

" _Yes, she is!"_ told Zedd.

Richard smiled, came to the girl, took her up and sat Cara on his shoulders.

" _Put me down!"_ The Mord'Sith wanted to put up a fight but the Seeker took both small fists into his big palm.

" _Cara, it'll be easy if you don't fight me back. Imagine that I'm your noble horse."_

" _Put me down! I'm a Mord'Sith! I must protect you!"_ She chirped with her childish voice.

" _Yes, and as a Mord'Sith you have to listen to your Lord's orders. My order is for you to sit on my shoulders and look for potential enemies."_

" _Even a five-year old_ _won't buy this bullshit!"_

" _Hey, what I said about language?"_ Kahlan came up to the trio with a wide smile on her face. _"Give me the skins and your sword. Your horse is overloaded."_

" _Tell him to put me down!"_

Kahlan didn't say anything. She made a gesture for Cara to give the water skins. The child obeyed without any enthusiasm.

" _Hold on!"_ said Richard and they went further.

Cara helplessly put her small hands on Richard's forehead and let Lord Rahl carry her.

Finally, when they had a short break, the child climbed down the Seeker's shoulders and until the end of the day she didn't approach Richard ashamed of him carrying her like a sack. At the end of the day Cara was absolutely exhausted. Kahlan found the child fast asleep on her rug. The Mord'Sith didn't care about the rabbit stew the Mother Confessor brought her. Kahlan decided not to disturb the peacefully sleeping fair-haired girl. She covered the curled form with a blanket and went back to men to have supper with them.

" _What are you doing?"_ The Confessor approached her husband an hour later when plates and cutlery were clean and taken away in the bags.

Richard was carving something out of wood with the knife.

" _Guess,"_ he replied concentrating on his work.

" _A toy for Cara. She would be furious,"_ Kahlan grinned sitting next to the Seeker near the fire.

" _I don't know why, but I'm glad that she is such a vulnerable child,"_ confessed the Seeker.

" _Me too. When I saw her for the first time I wanted to tear her into tiny bits. Now I can't imagine what we would do without her. Confessors can't have friends. People are afraid of us and the Mord'Sith should hate me even more. I can't reminiscence how many times she saved our lives. I'd rather she became a real five-year old. I would have raised her as my own daughter without her knowing anything about being a Mord'Sith,"_ Kahlan sighed.

" _We can't turn back time or change our destiny. We can take care of each other, though. That's the best we could do."_

He blew some shaving from the toy and gave it to Kahlan. The woman gently touched the mane of a tiny horse which pawed ready to begin a journey and see the world.

" _It is beautiful."_

" _You are beautiful,"_ said Richard and pressed his lips to Kahlan's for a long-lasting kiss.

Kahlan was standing guard listening to sounds of the night while Zedd and Richard were sleeping on their rugs. Cara was tossing and turning for some time. So, the Mother Confessor had to tuck in the blanket over her small form. Then, the child started whimpering something.

" _No… please… No… don't die! Don't leave me! Please!"_

Kahlan had to shake the Mord'Sith to wake her up. The child was panting and looked really scared as if she saw a ghost.

" _Cara, everything's fine."_ The confessor whispered to reassure that they were safe.

A tear ran down the chubby cheek.

" _You're still alive."_

" _Of course I'm alive, silly. It was just a nightmare."_ Kahlan brushed the tear from child's face.

" _We were fighting the Order soldiers. They killed you and I couldn't revive you because I don't have my Mord'Sith's power anymore."_ Cara said so quickly that the confessor could hardly understand her childish gibberish.

" _I'm quite alright as you see,"_ Kahlan gave her friend a reassuring smile.

" _What if it's real and I don't have the Breath of Life anymore. How can I protect any of you if I'm a clumsy, tiny dwarf with no powers?"_ This thought has been haunting her the whole day while they were crossing that enormous prairie.

" _You are not a dwarf but a child. Have you ever seen children protecting adults?"_ She didn't finish but Cara interrupter her.

" _Any Mord'Sith at the age of 11 can already be useful as a spy. We also are trained to break prisoners at the age of 11 and can cause a lot of pain to any ordinary adult. Of course, trained soldiers don't count because children don't have as much strength as an adult man even with an agiel."_

" _Thanks for the information but you are twice smaller than that. That's why let us take care of you,"_ said Kahlan and playfully stroke Cara's nose with the finger.

" _Hey, stop treating me like a child."_ The Mord'Sith caught Kahlan's finger with her hand and looked furiously at her. It was very funny because she had to use all four fingers to grab one of Kahlan's.

" _Sorry, I can't help it."_

Cara's stomach growled.

" _Would you like some rabbit stew? We managed to rescue one portion from Zedd."_

" _That would be great."_ The Mord'Sith hasn't eaten since yesterday's lunch. So, she eagerly agreed.

" _Let's make a small fire and warm it up,"_ suggested the Mother Confessor.

" _No, we are at an open place and it's the middle of the night. I'd better eat it cold."_

" _Are you sure? At lunch you nearly vomited when Zedd gave you jerked meat."_

" _I don't know why, but even the smell of jerked meat makes me sick recently,"_ confessed the child.

" _That's bad. We have just it and some pieces of dried bread for tomorrow. I hope we get to the nearest village in a day or two."_

Cara mused over confessor's word for some time, while she was eating cold but delicious stew.

Next day at the first break the Mord'Sith carried a middle sized dead lizard from somewhere that she probably killed some minutes ago.

" _Are you sure it's eatable?"_ asked Zedd looking skeptically at the dead animal.

" _Do you think I eat lizards, wizard?"_ said Cara quite offended.

She sat down on the stone, turned the lizard on its back, opened its mouth and breathed into its muzzle. The reptile began to move its paws and tried to jerk away from Cara's grip. A very satisfied child put it down on the ground and let it run away.

" _Why did you let it go? Lizards could be very tasty,"_ grumbled Zedd not pleased that the reptile got away.

" _It's a special one. I won't allow anyone to eat it."_

" _Then this is for you."_

The old man handed her a big slice of jerked meat. Richard and Kahlan rolled their eyes. These two couldn't do without mocking at each other no matter how old they were.

 _ **To be continued…**_


	4. Chapter 4

**Little Red Pixie**

 **Part 4**

The scorching heat of the desert they were walking through was burning their minds. Zedd drank the last drops of water but the group still had a few hours until sunset.

" _Thirsty… Thirsty… Thirsty… Thirsty… Thirsty… Thirsty…"_

" _Cara, stop it!"_ shouted Richard who already had enough of the whining.

" _Stop what?"_ The blue eyes met grey ones. She sounded so innocent that he was angry with himself to raising his voice at her.

" _Cara, everyone's thirsty. If you say it 1,000 times, it won't rain anyway. It's a desert!"_ He said calmer this time.

" _Did I say it out loud? I'm sorry. I didn't realize."_ She apologized.

The Mord'Sith looked like a nest-doll because Kahlan wrapped her in a long white cotton scarf to protect her face and body from the blazing sun. As stubborn as Cara was she had put up a fight until Richard warned her that she would never ever get back her agiels and would be thrown away from the Mord'Sith's kind.

The sun disappeared over the horizon when the child stumbled over again. The previous time Zedd had to heal some bruised knees and elbows. That's why Kahlan supported Cara as she held her by the hand. The landscape changed a bit. Here and there the wanderers ran into crooked, stunted trees and bushes. Little lizards and small crawling insects started to occur more often. The air became cooler but not much. The lack of water redounded to their exhaustion. Cara was going slower and slower. Together with the Mother Confessor they lagged far behind the two men. The Mord'Sith tripped again. So, Kahlan took the child into her arms.

" _No, put me down. I'll walk!"_ The girl pronounced tiredly. She had a cobweb in her throat. So, the voice sounded weak and hoarse.

" _Of course you will, but it'll be faster like this. Can you wrap your legs over my body? It would be much easier for me to hold you."_ For once Cara did as she was asked for without any comment or fighting. She snuggled over the Confessor's body, wrapped her small arms around Kahlan's neck and put her head on Kahlan's shoulder.

" _Thank you!"_ She mumbled closing her eyes.

" _Sleep! We have a long way ahead,"_ said Kahlan softly into child's ear.

It was noisy in the tavern of a small village which they found a few hours later. Drunk men were singing an obscene song when Richard with Cara on his shoulder together with the Mother Confessor and wizard entered the tavern. The Mord'Sith woke up and rubbed eyes with her tiny fists trying to understand what was going on.

" _Pretend that we are a family,"_ Richard whispered into her ear putting her down near the counter which now seemed enormously big for a five-year old.

" _Good evening, we are looking for shelter. Can we rent two rooms?"_ The Seeker put on the counter two silver coins. That was more than enough for the best rooms in this second rate inn.

" _Dad, can I have some water, please!"_ begged Cara pulling his pant leg.

" _And water, please, we haven't had a drop of water for the whole day,"_ said Richard.

The owner looked at them suspiciously, asked some questions about their travel and told the servant to give water to the travelers.

The Mord'Sith drank a huge two-pint mug of water and then she asked for another Zedd mocked at her.

" _Won't you explode if you drink one more?"_

" _Pour one more and stand back for me not to splash you with water if I explode,"_ she answered giving him her mug.

The customers, who heard the dialogue, burst into laughter.

" _You have a smart kid!"_ said one man tapping Richard on the shoulder. _"Give these men something more refreshing than water!"_

" _Yeah, thanks. She's as witty as her great-grandpa."_ The Seeker smiled relieved that they were welcomed by these people with from all walks of life.

Kahlan was wrapped in a shawl and a slip-on long dress, so nobody could see the long hair of the Mother Confessor or the Mord'Sith's inappropriate dress with high-heeled boots that was hidden under the scarf. In this part of the world these were usual clothes for women. Nobody asked questions. The Seeker and the Wizard also were wearing baggy trousers and shirts made of linen which covered their arms till wrists. Zedd put an invisible spell on the Sword of Truth. So, all four looked like a travelling family.

The servant brought Richard and Zedd's backpacks into the room. They stayed with the merry crowd downstairs, while Kahlan and Cara went upstairs.

The moment the Mord'Sith entered the room and the door closed behind the servant, she took a stool with a basin for washing the face and dragged it somewhere.

" _Hey, it's heavy! What do you want to do?"_ Kahlan asked watching Cara's hard work.

" _This sand got into every curve of my body. I want to wash it away!"_ the child replied.

" _It got into what?!"_ The Mother Confessor couldn't suppress a giggle.

" _Don't make fun of the handicapped!"_ Cara said quite offended.

" _Sorry, and you're not a handicapped!"_

She helped the Mord'Sith to pour water from a huge pitcher into the basin, that now was standing on the floor behind the screen, which was unexpected to find in such a low class tavern.

" _Do you want me to help you wash?"_ Kahlan asked when Cara returned behind the screen with a small piece of soap.

" _I'm a child not a handless physically challenged!"_ The girl frowned.

" _Fine,"_ Kahlan rolled her eyes. _"Tell me if you need to rub your back."_

While the mother confessor was taking out some necessary things for the sleep, Cara was splashing behind the screen.

" _Can you imagine I'm so minuscule that I can sit in this damn basin?"_ said a very dissatisfied Mord'Sith.

" _Yes, and you can cozily sleep on my shoulder,"_ she smiled at the memory even if it was hard for her to keep up with Richard and Zedd when she picked up Cara in her arms. The Seeker saw and helped her taking the little girl in his arms but it was nice to have a five-year old in her arms. The Confessor thought of her own children one day.

" _I'm sorry. I've never thought that it is so hard to be a child. It's like at the beginning you have all energy in the world and in no time you can't stir a finger. I try to work more on my endurance,"_ answered the child from behind the screen.

" _Actually, you shouldn't. If I were you, I would enjoy every minute of being a child once again."_

" _Really? I'm tiny as a mouse, fat as a pig and weak as a kitten. What's so wonderful in it?"_

" _Everyone wants to protect you. You are the sweetest girl I've ever seen!"_

" _You are exaggerating! Besides, we are at war. The Imperial Order kills children. It doesn't protect anybody except of the monsters they call their people."_ Cara strongly disagreed.

" _Anyway, I go bring some food and hurry up that servant with the hot bucket of water. I don't want to wash in cold water,"_ said Kahlan and disappeared behind the door allowing Cara to enjoy her basin.

When she turned up in the room with a tray in her hands, the Confessor heard a splash of water so loud as if the whole ocean suddenly came into the room. It was followed by a suppressed giggle. The puddle on the floor that came from under the screen began to grow.

" _What are you doing here?"_ Kahlan went behind the screen to find a very satisfied 5 year-old covered in soap foam. Cara was standing in the half-empty basin because a lot of water was already on the floor.

" _Look!"_ the child said with a big smile and leaped up splashing the water on the screen, Kahlan, wall and finally the floor.

Probably, another time Kahlan would share this childish enthusiasm but she was exhausted and hungry. That's why Cara met a stern look on the Mother Confessor's face.

" _You! Take a mop and I want to see this room cleaned in a short candle mark. Got it!"_ She snapped at the Mord'Sith.

" _Party-poorer!"_ frowned the Mord'Sith but took a wiper, which Kahlan gave her, and started to wipe the water from the floor.

Richard came right in the middle of their late supper. Kahlan was sitting at the table eating the stew, while Cara was sitting with both legs on the chair only in her Mord'Sith's panties, which Zedd so wisely shrunk to fit her tiny figure, and she was eating the stew holding the wooden spoon in her small fist.

" _Cara, would you mind to put something on?"_ The Seeker turned his back to women in a gentleman way.

" _Why are you allowed to walk in the street shirtless but I'm not? I don't even have boobs now! So, I can dress how I want!"_ She said nonchalantly not giving a damn if the man was comfortable or not. _"On top of that, my clothes don't fit anymore. Other things are dirty and Kahlan doesn't let me wash them. So, I have nothing to wear."_

" _Tell Zedd to shrink my night-robe for Cara. I hope I won't need it tonight,"_ the Confessor said playfully to her husband putting the night-robe on his shoulder.

Richard sighed and went out to find the wizard.

Although the gown was too long, but it fit the Mord'Sith, who told Richard and Kahlan "Good night" and went to sleep in Zedd's room with two single beds.

The wizard was soundly asleep while Cara was tossing and turning because of the heat outside and inside the room. As she was wide awake, the child took out a horse from her backpack, went to the window, climbed on the window-sill and stared outside at stars playing with her only toy.

Zedd woke up somewhere at 3 a.m. in the morning from a strange sound of some sack falling down on the floor. Cara also woke up but the reason was different. She found herself on the floor face down and the right side of her body hurt. The wizard lit a candle with two fingers and looked on the floor.

" _Fell down?"_ he asked.

" _Yes,"_ the child collected herself from the floor rubbing the bruised place on her body.

" _Does it hurt?"_

" _I'm a Mord'Sith. I can bear some bruises."_ The girl answered bravely, nevertheless, her right arm hurt as hell.

" _Let me see. This bed is quite high for a child of your complexion."_

He scanned her with his magic and found just a small injury of the elbow. Zedd pronounced a spell and the pain disappeared.

" _Thank you but it wasn't necessary,"_ told Cara going back to her bed. She could hardly climb it. _"I'd better sleep on the floor."_

" _You don't need too. Let's take these two chairs and put them next to the bed. If anything, you fall on them but their back will prevent you from going down."_

She took one chair and the wizard put another one. Zedd helped her to climb on the bed.

" _I'm pathetic."_ She muttered to herself but the wizard heard it.

" _You know Richard also fell from the bed when he was your age. A lot of things are the same in childhood, adulthood or senility. We start to understand and respect something only when the perfect time has passed. So child, sleep tight. Tomorrow you'll have another amazing day full of adventures."_ He smiled at the Mord'Sith watching as she covered the sheet over her small body and closed her beautiful blue eyes.

 _ **To be continued…**_


	5. Chapter 5

**Little Red Pixie**

 **Part 5**

As Zedd predicted the little girl woke up not on the bed but on two chairs he so thoughtfully put beside the bed. The sun was dawning. It was the part of the morning when the sky was greyish blue because the rays of the sun didn't touch the surface yet. Cara rolled back on the bed but as she didn't want to sleep she started playing with her fingers as all small kids do when they have nothing to entertain themselves with. Then, the child found this occupation rather boring and took out her figurine of the horse from under the pillow. It wasn't much of a distraction either. Zedd was comfortably snoring on his bed. Therefore, Cara climbed down from the bed, went to the window peeping outside into the yard where nobody was except some chicken, which were searching something in the thin grass. The scenery wasn't attractive. The yard was covered in dirty sand with some bunches of grass here and there. As this inn was in the outskirts of a small village the girl could see just the prairie. The view outside was quite boring but as there was not much to do inside the room Cara put on her boots, took the scarf that Kahlan wrapped her into yesterday and went sneakily to the door only to be stopped by the wizard.

" _Where is our mighty Mord'Sith going with such a huge dagger and in a night robe?"_ grumbled the wizard sitting up in his bed and examining the child from top to toe. _"Come here!"_

The child's shoulders slouched.

" _Cara, have you ever seen a child in a night robe with a deadly dagger on the belt and in the Mord'Sith's boots? You look ridiculous!"_

" _If Kahlan let me wash my black dress yesterday, I would have put it on today. I don't have any other clothes."_ The child frowned.

" _Yes, that black dress is your underwear top if I remember it correctly. It is not appropriate either. Stand still."_

Zedd took off the belt with the dagger, put aside the scarf and whispered some kind of the spell gently waving his hand along Cara's night robe and boots.

" _Pink dress?! Why on earth I always get pink dresses!"_ She yelped looking at magical creation in disgust. It was a simple dress with long-sleeved top, flower corsage on the waistline and tea length skirt that covered ankles. The boots turned into beautiful tiny red shoes.

The wizard put on Cara's head the scarf and tied it in such a way that only her face was seen and some locks of fair hair.

" _Now you can go outside."_

" _Why couldn't you spell my clothes before?"_ She looked at him quizzically.

" _We were alone in the desert. Now there are too many people around. Don't want us to run into a trap."_ He said looking at his masterpiece.

" _What about my dagger? Where should I put it?"_

" _Bladed weapons are not for kid's play."_

" _What if somebody attacks me? What am I supposed to do unarmed?"_

" _Nobody attacks a five-year old. Besides, with your wit and beauty you can charm anyone with a smile,"_ told the wizard taking away the belt with the dagger and putting it on the night table.

She glowered at Zedd for a moment, turned to the door and went out of the room.

Two men were already sitting in the hall at the table eating some bread with cheese and discussing the journey. They had to set off early today.

" _Good morning, sweetheart! What is your name?"_ the elder one asked Cara. He seemed to be a giant for her with door wide shoulders, strong torso and enormous hands to cope with the club that was now lying next to the table's leg. On the other hand, he had kind brown half-closed eyes, black beard with some grey hairs in it and black moustache. He smiled at her.

Firstly, Cara looked around to see if he was talking to somebody else. Just these two men and Cara were in the room, so she thought it to be wise to speak.

" _Good morning!"_ She greeted the giants because another man, even though he was much younger, had the same tough complexion and fierce appearance. _"My dad tells me not to talk to strangers."_

" _Your dad is a wise man. My name is George and this is Egmont, my son."_ The old man presented himself.

" _Your names don't tell me much. If you excuse me, I'll go and play outside,"_ said Cara as a matter of fact and went towards the exit.

" _What a smart child!"_ exclaimed George. _"Would you like a lump of sugar, little princess?"_ He produced a big dirty lump of sugar from his pocket which still seemed quite attractive for Cara who could have been eating sweets all day long but she didn't trust these men.

" _Thank you very much but I'm not hungry. Have a nice day, gentlemen."_ She went out.

Richard woke up startled by a childish scream coming from the yard. As fast as he could he put on the pants on his naked body, took Kahlan's daggers and ran outside. He froze at the unraveling scene. Cara was sitting in the arms of the young man, while the older man was fighting with two hounds. The third one was lying on the ground in a pool of blood that leaked from its smashed head. Richard shot off to help the old man seeing that Cara was safe. In a second the owner of the tavern went out to save his dogs. He called them off and locked them up in the cage. Everything happened in seconds. Richard came up to the man and took the Mord'Sith in his arms.

" _Cara, are you alright?"_ He asked examining her small form in his arms.

" _Fine,"_ she pronounced weakly still shaking in his arms. _"They just tore the hem of my dress."_

The scarf fell off from her head revealing blonde hair in all its glory.

" _Thank you, Sir, for saving my daughter."_ The Seeker expressed his gratitude.

" _You're welcome. You shouldn't leave such a princess without proper guard. She's too young to roam the streets on her own."_ George scolded Richard as if he was Cara's real father.

" _Robert, what's happened?"_ Kahlan rushed out into the yard in the filthy clothes she was wearing yesterday. Zedd was short at her feet. The wizard introduced himself as Ruben Rybnik. So, Kahlan turned out to be Kelly Rybnik and Richard travelled as Robert Rybnik.

" _Cara was attacked by the dogs,"_ he made a gesture towards the cage where a very dissatisfied owner put his beasts.

" _Holy Spirits, how are you, baby?"_ Kahlan wanted to touch the Mord'Sith but Cara demanded Richard to put her down.

" _I'm fine. Stop fussing over me as if I'm a porcelain doll!"_ The child huffed.

" _Who'd pay me for the dog?"_ asked the angry owner.

" _Pay you?!"_ Kahlan jumped at him. _"These dogs nearly tore my child apart. Why do you let them go out when the inn is full?"_

" _These dogs, lady, protect my guests from thieves and other scums of society."_ He barked at her angrily.

" _How do these hounds protect the visitors if any of them can bite even adults to death?"_ asked the Seeker also furious with the inn keeper. _"Why didn't you tell us about them yesterday?"_

" _It's not my problem if you let your children go outside at dawn when everybody else is happily sleeping in their beds!"_ The inn keeper folded arms in front of him.

" _If I hadn't smashed the head of that hound, it would have bit off this little girl's leg!"_ George snapped at the owner.

" _This is not my problem. I lock the dogs away when the sun is in the sky not earlier! They should be looking after their childnot me!"_ The owner grumbled understanding that nobody was going to pay for the dead animal.

" _You knew that we had to ride earlier today. We told you beforehand. Why didn't you close the dogs? You wanted them to attack us?"_ Egmont jumped at the inn keeper ready to strike him.

" _I overslept. Besides, Missy has already given you breakfast, hasn't she? She should have taken care about the dogs!"_ The inn keeper parried the question.

" _Wonderful! Come on, Cara. We are leaving! I don't want to stay here a minute longer."_ Kahlan took the Mord'Sith by the hand who was extremely displeased by the Confessor's gesture. _"Thank you very much for saving our Cara. If there's anything we can do for you…"_ Kahlan looked at the older man.

" _That's alright. You have a very brave girl."_ George smiled at the woman and winked at Cara.

A few minutes later Cara was sitting on the bed in Kahlan's room while the Mother Confessor was tossing her things in the backpack.

" _Why did you go outside alone at this hour?!"_ fumed the Confessor.

" _Confessor, if I disturbed your hot night with the Seeker, it doesn't mean that I can't go anywhere alone. Also, it was the wizard, who said that children can't go out with daggers on their belts in public. As you know I can't get my agiels with me."_ The Mord'Sith explained mercilessly.

" _Why weren't you asleep? You were exhausted yesterday!"_ Kahlan couldn't leave the topic because the Mord'Sith was right. She really enjoyed the night with her husband.

" _I don't know why I do or don't do some things lately. When I woke up I tried to occupy myself with something but it was so boring, I thought my head would explode. Therefore, I went for a walk."_ She sat at the side of the bed swinging both feet. _"I didn't ask to become a child."_ She pouted as if apologizing for having done something inappropriate.

" _Fine, kiddo. Go and pack your things! We're leaving!"_ Kahlan sighed looking about the room to see if she didn't forget anything.

They've been travelling for two weeks without any trouble. In a small town they left three days ago Kahlan finally bought Cara some clothes for children which the latter accepted not eagerly. She refused to wear the dresses and complained about boyish trousers that were too short while the shirt was too long. The Mord'Sith tried to keep up with their merry company but her childish body often couldn't cope with long distances and pace of the adult companions. So, the Seeker made a kind of a backpack mostly of straps where she could comfortably snuggle, when it was too hard to go further. Kahlan and Richard both carried the child not allowing the old man to exhaust himself.

The environment became friendlier. Here and there appeared some trees and bushes, small streams sometimes sprung out of nowhere on their way. The amount of animals increased to Kahlan's sheer abomination as she detested snakes and other crawling and hissing reptiles.

The travelers came to a small lake that was covered in the reed. Richard said it would be a great place to relax for a day after a long three day journey across the steppe. The Confessor was washing the clothes. The wizard went to gather some roots and berries if he was lucky enough. The Seeker left for a hunt, while Cara was enjoying a bath in the lake not far from the woman. The Mord'Sith was splashing when she saw quite a big snake making its way towards Kahlan who stood her back to the creature.

" _Kahlan, don't move!"_ The child said in a low voice still audible for the woman to hear her.

 _ **To be continued…**_

 _ **Some reviews will be highly appreciated. What should I do with this snake?**_


	6. Chapter 6

**Little Red Pixie**

 **Part 6**

The snake wasn't big about 5 feet length but for a five-year old Mord'Sith it was quite dangerous, especially due to the fact, that it was a poisonous one. Cara had a knack for poisonous animals. While being educated at the Mord'Sith's temple Sisters of the Agiel taught newcomers all sorts of tortures, poisons, dangerous animals and different weapons. The girls should recognize various types of snakes, spiders, scorpions and other lovely creatures to know how to treat prisoners in the most effective way. The poison and antidote were two sides of the coin. If a captive died because the Mord'Sith didn't recognize the danger and couldn't revive him or her, the failure could have cost too much.

The snake crawled to Kahlan and raised its head ready to attack. Quite wobbly and shaky Cara jumped at the moment the creature was ready to strike. The child grabbed snake's head with her tiny hand and immediately grasped it with another because the creature was too strong to seize it only with one hand. The snake squirmed and Cara could feel the tip of its tongue on her nose. She made a wry face trying to stretch her arms in order to get the reptile as far away from her face as possible. The child understood that if the snake wraps itself on her it could be fatal.

" _Kahlan, take the daggers, cut it!"_ She shouted but in vain. The Mother Confessor couldn't move a limb. Kahlan had some kind of phobia. So, she stood near the lake with her mouth agape and watched Cara's attempts to strangle the creature.

" _Kahlan, I won't hold it for long!"_

The child made a step back trying to get rid of the snake's body that wanted to twirl on her leg. Still, nothing happened. The woman was in a chock. The only thing Cara could do was to drag the snake to the big stone where Kahlan was washing their clothes. She made a step forward which finally woke the Confessor from her reverie as Cara was going to her direction. Kahlan with a yelp jumped aside, while Cara put all her strength into pulling the snake together with her to the stone but failed as the serpent wrapped itself on the Mord'Sith's leg making her to fall down so awkwardly that Cara brushed snake's head across the stone injuring her own chin badly. The pain was overwhelming but to set the reptile free was fatal. Blood started running down girl's chin, she didn't release the grip, though. The snake also fought for its life wrapping itself around Cara's body. At this very moment Kahlan attacked the creature with the dagger splitting it along in such a way that the tip of the dagger scratched Cara's naked belly.

" _Cut its head not me!"_ the child screamed still holding the wriggling serpent in her small fists.

When the creature died Cara was covered in blood of the snake and her own blood that ran down on her chest. She breathed heavily trying to choke down the tears. Kahlan even paler than Cara mounted above the both, her arms and part of the skirt soaked in blood. The girl pressed her palm to the chin to stop the bleeding.

" _Cara, let me see,"_ the Mother Confessor took a step forward but Cara made a step back.

" _Don't touch me!"_ she hissed spitting out a tooth then another.

" _Please, let me help you!"_ Kahlan begged but the girl pressed harder the wound and went away from the dead snake and the Confessor.

Richard and Zedd came back in two hours. They found Kahlan sewing some clothes while Cara was sleeping peacefully on the rug. Her chin was swollen with a huge gash on it.

" _What happened?"_ Zedd asked kneeling beside the Mord'Sith.

" _She saved my life,"_ said Kahlan calmly. _"A snake wanted to attack me but Cara caught it. It nearly killed her."_ The Confessor shuddered thinking of what might have happened if she didn't have strength to get the dagger and cut the beast.

" _She's still our Cara no matter how minuscule she is,"_ said the wizard brushing some locks from child's forehead. He wanted to press his big palm to the wound to heal it but Cara woke up.

" _Don't touch me. It hurts!"_ She jerked away from the old man.

" _Yes, and it will until I heal it properly. Come on! Since when a mighty Mord'Sith is afraid of pain?"_ He reprimanded the child jokingly.

" _Fine,"_ she answered gloomily and sat still to let Zedd heal the wound. She knew it would hurt. It always hurt in the process.

" _It's a rather big creature for such a small girl,"_ told the Seeker coming back with the dead snake. _"Thank you for saving Kahlan."_ He expressed his gratitude. _"If it wasn't damaged so badly I would have done you a belt out of its skin, but I think Kahlan was too fierce with it."_ He looked at his wife wondering how she would cope with the snake if Cara wasn't near knowing Kahlan's fear of any crawling creatures.

Cara was groaning with pain while Zedd was healing her wound. She hit her chin pretty hard making the lower jaw crack. It was obvious because bones of a child weren't as hard as of a middle aged woman. It again reminded Zedd of how vulnerable children could be.

" _A little more and you'll be in a roaring good health,"_ he said when she nearly started to cry. _"So, that's all."_ The old man released the child.

" _But my teeth?! I lost two of them!"_ She licked the gaps in her mouth with her tongue very disappointed not to find what she was searching for.

" _These were baby teeth. You already have tiny new ones under them. There's no need to worry."_ Zedd chuckled looking at Cara's sullen expression.

" _Mord'Sith shouldn't be toothless!"_ she concluded.

" _As well as they shouldn't be five year old children."_ Zedd replied wisely.

The Seeker skinned a strange looking but quite big bird that he managed to kill, Kahlan brought water while Zedd was occupied with herbs and roots he gathered in the wilderness. At this moment Cara came back from the lake carrying one frog in each fist.

" _What are you going to do with them?"_ asked the Seeker cutting the bird into pieces for the stew.

" _They'll be the participants in my frog race,"_ replied the child putting the frogs on the ground and letting them go. Of course, they leapt in different directions. So, she collected them again and put in front of the stick which substituted the starting point of the improvised racing track. The disobedient frogs made one leap over the stick and then again changed their directions jumping to the sides. Cara repeated her actions approximately 5 or 6 times without any success. Finally, she set the frogs free but half an hour passed. It meant that she could do something else because it was far more boring to sit doing nothing than to do at least something.

Firstly, it bothered Cara when others saw her playing. At the beginning she tried to hide from the others going far away and making them search for her for hours. Until the wizard started spelling her shoes, then her clothes because she thought it was pretty smart to leave the sandals and go somewhere alone burning her tiny feet on the sand. Cara's tastes changed not only in food. She preferred comfortable clothes to flowery dresses, liked to run or jump instead of going mostly because she couldn't keep with other's pace. Her attention span was of an aquarium fish. That's why in five minutes she could do more things than Kahlan in four hours. Of course, they were done half way or very badly. Therefore, they stopped bothering her with long routines giving Cara simple tasks to do. The girl already had some toys – a horse, that Richard curved for her seemed like ages ago, a small rag doll, Kahlan sewed, which wasn't accepted with pleasure as a toy for toddlers but now and then she played with it too, mostly taking the doll with her to sleep. Zedd made a small ball out of stone which wasn't heavy and comfortable enough for Cara's little fist. She also had some throwing knives in order to practice her throwing skills as with her minuscule form and strength of a flee the only way to fight was either to surprise the enemy or to run as fast as she could. She couldn't do even that, though.

Travelling Cara lost some weight, because of the change in her food preference. She didn't like lots of food that they had at their disposal. So, sometimes Zedd used some magic to make the child eat at least something. It wasn't because she was moody or not grateful for everything they did for her but because if she ate something tasteless to her mind, in half an hour she threw it up. That's why Richard and Kahlan refused to experiment but went straight to Zedd who turned the taste of a stew or cheese into a cherry pie or sweet porridge. It always amused Cara that jerked beef she hated so much could taste as a pan-fried apple she could eat non-stop.

" _Time to eat!"_ called Kahlan watching Cara throwing stones into the lake. The girl immediately ran to the camp.

" _What flavor would you prefer today, snake strangler,"_ asked Zedd winking at Cara.

" _Make it taste as roasted chicken with honey."_ Cara opened her mouth with two teeth completely gone.

" _Roasted chicken with honey, huh? Where do you take such recipes?"_ Zedd snapped to fingers and pronounced some kind of spell.

" _My mom used to do it in the oven. The best roasted chicken I've had in years."_ She confessed taking the bowl with the bird stew from the wizard.

The night came. The old man and the child were soundly asleep on their rugs while Richard and Kahlan were sitting near the dead fire talking.

" _She nearly died today because of me,"_ Kahlan shivered remembering the accident with the snake.

" _Stop blaming yourself. Cara can take care of herself. Probably, not as well as she could when she was an adult woman, but I think we became overprotective. Besides, she knows how you're afraid of the snakes. She did what she had to do, protected the wife of Richard Rahl."_ The Seeker tried to calm her down.

" _You don't understand! I was standing there, looking at her struggling with the snake and couldn't move a finger! If she wasn't a Mord'Sith, if we had our own child, I would stand and watch my child die because of the stupid fear."_

" _You didn't just stand and watch her die. You killed the creature. Everything's fine."_ He reminded her but it didn't ease the woman's tension.

" _Now I understand how hard it is to travel with a child and how responsible we should be to keep her alive. We'd better hurry to Nicci."_

They spoke for some time. Then Kahlan went to sleep and Richard stood on guard.

 _ **To be continued…**_

 _ **Reviews please!**_


	7. Chapter 7

**Little Red Pixie**

 **Part 7**

The soldiers of the Imperial order suddenly appeared from the bushes on the third day of their journey after the encounter with the snake. Cara has just started adapting to the feeling of less teeth in her mouth. The five year old heard like in a dream Richard shouting at her to hide, when suddenly a muscleman with a wry smile sprouted on her way out of nowhere like in a fairy tale.

" _Who do we have here?"_ He asked anticipating an easy prey. _"Come to uncle Joshua, pretty face."_ The man already stretched his hand to grab her when Cara took out her childish but charmed sword and sliced his wrist to the bone making the man scream in horror. While Joshua wrapped another hand over his wrist, Cara jumped at him cutting the muscles right at the back of the knee. The man shook and kneeled. She would have killed him with another swift cut to his throat but another soldier was running at her. The girl let him come closer and threw a dagger in his face trying to aim in the eye of the man.

At the same time Richard was fighting three men while Zedd was getting rid of two other soldiers using the wizard's fire. Kahlan cut one unfortunate man open and confessed another to protect her. Three adults and one child were greatly outnumbered by a well-trained squad. Instead of running away from the man, who was even more furious when the dagger brushed across his left cheek leaving a bleeding scar, she ran forward and kneeled right at the time when his blade swooshed above her head. She swept through the grass on her knees and dug her small sword into man's left leg above the knee ripping off his pants and leg to the hip as she lifted up from the ground. No matter how lucky Cara was with these two fools she was still a child. So, the second man despite pain turned to her and knocked out the sword from her hands making her nearly fly face on the ground. At that moment the wizard turned to her and did some kind of spell that knocked out the soldier. This gave Cara some seconds to recover from the fall. She immediately grabbed the sword. The girl heard Zedd's words to get away from the place but ignored him. Instead she attacked one soldier from his back cutting both of his shins which caused him to land down on the ground. In the middle of the fight Cara felt that she could fly because somebody lifted her up taking her very unlady-like by the collar.

" _Stop the fight or I kill her!"_ Shouted the captain of the squad through metallic clang and cries of the wounded.

His voice distracted Zedd who turned and was stabbed in his back. In the corner of the eye the Confessor saw this picture. She was tired but mad. The woman yelped attracting Richard's attention at once. Her eyes engorged. The woman stretched her hand towards the killer of the wizard, no matter that he was quite far away from her, his eyes turned black and the only thing he could whisper was: _"Command me, Confessor."_

" _Kill your mates!"_ she commanded hoarsely but clearly.

The man who surrounded Kahlan started to fight with each other. This happened in several seconds which gave Richard time to throw the sword in the neck of the man holding Cara. The child and the soldier collapsed on the grass. Cara ran to Zedd who was already in agony lying on the ground.

" _Richard, help Kahlan! I'll take care of Zedd."_ The child panted kneeling near the wizard. " _I'm sorry. I have to get out this sword."_ She apologized to the old man, who was lying on one side while the sword stuck out from his back. The Mord'Sith saw a tiny stream of blood with bubbles coming from Zedd's mouth. She understood that his lung was damaged. The child got behind the wizard, rested her foot on his back and pulled the sword. The old man wheezed one last time and became silent forever. She had to tinker with the sword for a while to get it out of the body. By the time the rest of the Imperial squad was eliminated with the help of confession. Richard tried to appeal to Kahlan's common sense while Cara tried to push Zedd's body on his back. Finally, the child succeeded in this hard task and gave the old fellow a good Breath of Life. The wizard opened his eyes and inhaled deeply as if he was drowning.

" _Are you alright?"_ inquired the girl. _"The lung shouldn't hurt anymore, probably the back would."_

Richard, who managed to make Kahlan turn into her serious self but not a monster she was few minutes ago, ran to his grandfather. Zedd was sitting upright still gulping air as fish out of water.

" _Zedd, how are you?"_ The Seeker kneeled beside the old man checking on his condition. Kahlan also approached to see if everything was fine.

" _Thank you, child!"_ The wizard wheezed looking at Cara. The girl stood in front of him covered in blood from head to toes. She didn't kill those soldiers but she hurt them quite badly and now was proud of herself.

" _Thank you?! If not for her, you wouldn't have been distracted!"_ told Richard angrily looking at the girl. _"Why didn't you obey the orders?"_

He turned to face her totally furious with her stupid behavior.

" _I told you to hide! Look at you. You have nearly been killed! If Kahlan didn't get into the blood rage, that man would have suffocated you!"_ The Seeker shouted at her.

" _Mord'Siths never run,"_ said the child stubbornly.

" _Cara, you're a five year old now! You can't fight as you could before!"_ reprimanded the Confessor.

" _I destroyed three of them,"_ said the Mord'Sith proudly.

" _You were just lucky that they didn't know how old you really are!"_ Richard disagreed. _"Now, let's see what we can find out from these soldiers. I talk to you later."_ He warned the Mord'Sith who just frowned at the remark.

Kahlan talked to the confessed commander's assistant, because the commander was lying dead killed by the sword of one of his confessed men. She found out that the squad wanted to kill Richard and the old man and take Kahlan as their slave. They've been travelling south to take care of the village that suddenly revolted against the Imperial order. They had to eliminate the men and 'take care of the women' in the way only the Imperial soldiers took care of them. They had no idea that this is Lord Rahl and the Mother Confessor with the wizard of the First order. Their loyal Mord'Sith they would have never recognized in a five-year old child. The attack was nothing special as the soldiers had no idea who the travelers were. They thought they were a family going back from the desert, probably running away from the Imperial Order. They were amazed by the sword and daggers the woman have and made fun of the child, who also had a small sword, a dagger and some throwing stars. The child was equipped with cold weapons. This fact amuzed the men. They anticipated how they would make the child show them the usage of these weapons. Unfortunately for them, Cara knew very well how to use them.

After the Mother Confessor commanded the remaining wounded soldiers to go to the village but instead to protect it from the Imperial Order, the company looted some food and drink from the corpses sending them on fire in the end. They grabbed their things and went further to be as far from the Imperial camp as they could till the end of this day.

Cara went silently until the sunset. She felt that Richard was beside himself with rage. Deep inside she understood why but ignored the Seeker even though she became tired and wanted to stop while the man was still going forward not changing the pace. Only after Kahlan's words he decided to set a camp for the night. The child was exhausted the Confessor saw that because Cara started to fall abreast two hours ago. That's why wizard always made a pause to wait for her while Richard and Kahlan went forward.

" _Cara, come here!"_ The Seeker told looking sternly at the girl. She approached him feeling that something was wrong. _"Tell me what should a Mord'Sith do when Lord Ralh gives her an order?"_ He asked with a compelling voice.

" _The Mord'Sith should obey his command, my Lord."_ She pronounced looking on the ground.

" _Why haven't you obeyed me today?"_

" _I wanted to help, my Lord."_ She mumbled.

" _Did it help when they captured you and they killed Zedd because of that?"_ He continued the interrogation.

" _Not my Lord, not as I expected it should."_

" _So, what should Lord Rahl do for his Mord'Sith to obey him?"_

" _I should be punished, my Lord."_ She raised her head to look in his eyes.

" _Here!"_

With a gesture Richard made the child lie down on his lap and started to spank her with his hand. It wasn't fierce as Darken Rahl used to do. Those times she was naked. Now she was fully dressed, therefore, she was confused why it hurt so badly. Richard smacked hard but she knew she deserved worse. Cara told herself not to make a sound, not to shed a tear but on the final tenth slap of his hand tears streamed down her childish cheeks. The Seeker put her upright and made her stare into his eyes.

" _Cara, we've been through a lot you and I, and Kahlan. We trusted you with our lives and you've always been there for us. I will be thankful for it till the end of my life. Now I want you to trust us. I'm furious not because Zedd was killed. I was sure that you could revive him. The moment I saw that soldier holding you by the collar and threatening to kill you, made my mind blow up because nobody could revive you. Your death will be final. How can't you get that?! I want to bring you to Nicci in one piece. I don't want to bring the Sisters of the Agiel your cold body. Do you understand?"_ He spoke strictly each word hammered into Cara's head. She couldn't stop the tears flow. _"Now go. I didn't want to punish you but if that was the only one way to make you start thinking, then that was it!"_

Cara went away followed by the dark haired woman.

" _Cara, where are you going?"_ asked the Confessor when the child went further into the bushes.

" _Leave me alone!"_ The girl sniffed wiping away the tears with the sleeve of her quite dusty shirt.

Of course, Kahlan didn't bow to a child. She took the naughty girl in her arms and hugged her not paying attention to Cara's weak blows. The whole day was too exhausting for a five-year old. She nearly ran all the way after the battle to keep up with the aults. The Mord'Sith had no power to fight her tears anymore. So, she wept and wept on Kahlan's shoulder listening to her friend's soothing words.

When they came back the supper was ready. They ate in silence enjoying the company of each other no matter that Cara's bottom was on fire after Richard's spanking. Still, she knew that each of them cared for her more than anybody else before. Again the Mord'Sith remembered Darken Rahl's punishment of his loyal servants. That was far from the thing she had today. The memory made her shudder. Even though the food was delicious and she was starving, she couldn't eat any more because of those horrifying memories. The pictures of everything that was made to her and other Mord'Siths appeared so vivid in her mind that the feeling nearly made her vomit everything she'd already eaten.

" _Thank you. I'm not very hungry. I'll go to sleep."_

Cara put her plate on the grass and went to her rug.

 _ **To be continued…**_

 _ **Happy Easter everyone! Unfortunately for Cara it wasn't very happy but I hope you won't be too harsh on Richard**_ __


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